re: If Saban didn’t come here how many natties would we have won since 2000?

I’m going with 350

I think you are fantasizing. It’s more like:

Emmett: we need this Saban guy.

Saban: okay now that you’ve hired me, I’m going to show you what a national championship program really looks like. Get ready to write more checks.

Or are you saying Alabama’s success also has nothing to do with Saban? Seems like they would have had no reason to hire Saban in the first place if true.

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I think you are fantasizing. It’s more like:

Emmett: we need this Saban guy.

Saban: okay now that you’ve hired me, I’m going to show you what a national championship program really looks like. Get ready to write more checks.

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Who's fantasizing?!?!

First, Emmert created the "Flagship Agenda" and that required an increase in fundraising.

Second, a portion of Emmert's salary was paid by the LSU Foundation, The Alumni Foundation, and the Tiger Athletic Foundation.

Third, Emmert saw what happened to the LSU football program when it was starved for funds.

Fourth, Emmert knew the best way to increase fundraising at LSU is to make LSU football into an elite program, and that takes money.

That is why Emmert was willing to make LSU's football coach one of the highest paid coaches in the country and paid him EIGHT times what LSU paid the prior coach. DiNardo's total buyout was less than Saban's first-year salary.

Emmert DOUBLED Saban's MSU salary. Emmert knew that it took money to make money.


You think Saban had to DEMAND money for new facilities and program upgrades?

You actually believe Saban walked into the LSU administration, and this happened.

Saban: Okay now that you’ve hired me, I’m going to show you what a national championship program really looks like. Get ready to write more checks.

Emmert: Gosh, we never thought it would cost more money to have an elite football program. You're the first football coach in the country to ask for more money for his program. We normally don't write checks for hundreds of millions of dollars, but at 5' 6" tall, you're very intimidating, and we like the way you wear turtlenecks with jackets. So sure, we'll do whatever you say. Do you think an elite football program might help us with fundraising?

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I don't think that you are giving Saban near enough credit. Saban went to the administration and demanded the revamping of our practice and coaching facilities. We were in the dark ages, and he knew that recruiting wars required top notch facilities to win! Not to mention, he brought us our first modern title and put us back on the national map. Sure...it took Emmert to play along and be willing to invest, but Saban deserves and big hunk of that credit as well.

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And Nick Saban demanded and ramrodded that 14 million dollar renovation of the old gym armory into Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes in 2004, probably still the best facility of its kind in the country.

A. You are a dick (not a straw man…just a fact).

B. You’re still selling Saban short. I think Emmert & Saban did fantastic jobs…but w/o Saban, the improvement of the program would have taken longer and been a much more painful process. While I’m forever grateful to Emmert, I’m also glad that Saban help to get our program out of the doldrums.

Probably Zero

He broke the threshold

Hard to say but before during and after Nick LSU invested a lot into their football program. If it was just Nick then the program would have fell off afterwards but didn’t. They had some success prior but not sustained success. Nick helped but it was more about what went on behind the scenes. Nick had zero to do with 2019. So go suck Nick off somewhere else.

No way to even guess without knowing who would have been hired instead of him. It's one thing to assume had he stayed but if he never came, the results would dependent on who did come not that fact that he didn't

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Dinardo brought in Faulk and a host of players that ended up winning a NC under Saban.

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The players that were the catalyst behind winning the Championship were Saban's players. Just go look at the production on offense and defense in 2003 its an overwhelming %.

Nothing like in 2007 where the offensive production was slightly leaning to Saban rather than Miles.

If the LSU football program was built by Saban through his force of will in demanding facilities and upgrades from the LSU administration, then why didn't he build anything at Michigan State?

He spent five years at MSU (1995-1999), and he spent five years at LSU (2000-2004). There's a huge difference, however, between MSU's football program and LSU's football programs during and immediately after Saban.

Why the difference if Saban had the power to make an administration bend to his will and spend millions of dollars just because he said so.


Michigan State

Saban: Okay now that you’ve hired me, I’m going to show you what a national championship program really looks like. Get ready to write more checks.

Michigan State: No, you miserable midget. We hired you to coach the team. You don't tell us where to spend millions of dollars.


LSU

Saban: Okay now that you’ve hired me, I’m going to show you what a national championship program really looks like. Get ready to write more checks.

LSU: No shite, you miserable midget. We told you when we were interviewing you that we wanted to invest millions into the program. That's why LSU made you one of the highest paid coaches in the country -- LSU is ready and willing to invest millions of dollars in football. We've already been writing checks. Oh, and stay away from Candy.